On April 4, you should have received an email from us, formally announcing that ISSP will be co-hosting a Global Congress for Climate Change & Sustainability Professionals with ACCO. The first-of-its-kind Congress will be held in Chicago this December 9-12, 2019. Since its inception, ISSP has hosted three conferences, all of which have attracted the field's leading voices. The Board and I pursued this partnership for our fourth convening because we truly believe we are stronger together; there are so many organizations doing great work in sustainability, and now is the time to reduce duplicative efforts and leverage resources collectively for greater impact.

We intentionally named this a "Congress" to indicate a very different focus from traditional conferences, with facilitated discussions on standardizing competencies and organizational structures, advancing professional credentialing, and establishing a uniform voice across the practitioner community. (Con't.)

This month, we profiled ISSP Sustainability Associate (ISSP-SA) Natalie Walker, who works as Director of Operations at GreenCircle Certified.

Natalie has nearly a decade of experience in sustainability as both an educator and professional. Following an affinity for systems thinking in nature--the process of understanding how things like ecosystems influence one another within a whole--she has worked in regulation, food and farming, energy, and corporate product stewardship.

"I first became involved in Sustainability while working to complete my undergraduate degree at Appalachian State University. Coursework in Sustainable Economics, Community Development, Agroecology and Planning inspired me to think differently about the world. This is where I began to understand the complexity of issues caused by short-term, linear thinking. Through subsequent professional experiences and further coursework in Sustainable Engineering at Villanova, I learned to appreciate the importance of systems approach to solving emerging problems related to food, social systems and the built environment."

As the ISSP Certification program approaches its fourth year of existence since we first launched the ISSP-SA and ISSP-CSP Betas in 2015, we cannot help but reflect that we have come a long way. In this time, we have delivered credentials that recognize the knowledge, skills and abilities of nearly 500 sustainability professionals working in a diverse array of organizations: Adobe, CISCO, EY, General Electric, IBM, Procter & Gamble, Walt Disney, and Xerox, not to mention a host of academic institutions and municipal governments.

The recent success of the program's new renewal system is evidence that hundreds of credential holders continue to see value in being able to formally convey their sustainability expertise to clients, employers, peers, etc. Our partners at Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), who have decades of experience administering sustainability-related credentials, have also recognized this value and are working with us to grow the program. We have even been hearing directly from credential holders about new doors opening in their careers, plus inclusion of the credentials in job listings and descriptions.

If you or anyone in your network is looking for the kind of boost that an ISSP-SA or ISSP-CSP credential can provide to a sustainability career, please visit our websiteto learn more or send us an email at certification@sustainabilityprofessionals.org.

In observance of the U.S.'s newly instated Winning on Reducing Food Waste Month (April) and on heels of federal agencies releasing a plan to reduce food waste, next Wednesday 4/24 at 10am PDT, we'll dig into Subaru of America, Inc.'s National Parks Zero Landfill Initiative - Composting Pilot in Grand Teton National Park.

ISSP credential holders will earn 0.5 CEUs for attending the webinar. It will be free for members and $25 for non-members, who will receive a discount code
(also worth $25) that they can apply towards a new ISSP membership.

ISSP Board members and associates can be found sharing their kno
wledge, sharpening their skills and networking at sustainability gatherings around the world. Reach out and introduce yourself to the ISSP members listed below if you too are planning to travel to one of the many sustainability conferences going on this spring through fall. Let us know where you're headed by dropping a note to execdir@sustainabilityprofessionals.org.

The International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP) is the world's leading professional association for sustainability professionals. ISSP is a member-driven association committed to moving the profession of sustainability forward through building strong networks and communities of practice.